Valve structure fo r pneumatic tires



April 15 1924.

J. KELLEY ET AL VALVE SiTRUCTURE FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES Filed April 25. 1923 Patented Apr. 15, 1924.

:ogm KELLEY am) cunetas navmono, or sr. Louis; Missoum.

vALvn srnuo'ruma non rNnUMATIc TIRES.

Application led April 38, 1.923. Serial No* 633,939.

To all 'whom it may] concern.'

Be it known that we, JOHN KnLLnY and CHAnLEs RAYMOND, citizens of the; United States, residing in the city of St. Louis,

6 State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Valve Structures for Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descri tion, such as will enable others skilled 10 in tie art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to valve structures of the kind that are used on pneumatic tires ofthe type that consist of a tubular vcasing lled with air and of the type that comprises a split casing that surrounds an inner tube filled with air. i

. The conventional valve structure that is now generally used on pneumatic tires of the type that comprise an inner tube and an outer casing, consists of a valve stem connected to the inner tube in such a -way that it projects'inwardly through the felloe of the wheel on which the casing of the tire is mounted, a spring-pressed valve in said stern that is relied vupon to retain the airl in the inner tube, a removabley valve cap mounted on a reduced portion at the up er end of the stern that is used to prevent irtV from entering the air passageway in the stem and a tubular-shaped dust cap mounted o'n the stem and constructed in such a way that it encases the exposed portion of' the stem and the valve cap thereon.

e5 Owing to the fact that the. air valve is a small, delicate part, provided with a rub` ber portion that bears against a metal valve seat, it is practically impossible to keep the valve tight' and in operative condition for an extended period, on account of the tendency of the rubber portion of the valve to Wear or out and be rendered ineffective, when a particle of dirt collects on the valve seat which is of relatively small area. The

y'that retains the 'the internal pressure in'said cap1 Vtires that will effectively maintain the 1equired pressure in 'the tire.

' Another object is to provide a valve structure for pneumatic tires in which the means ressure in the tire is of suil'iciently rugged design toy eliminate the possibility of its wearing out quickly or be- 1n rendered inefi'ectiveby' a particle of dirt co ecting on same.

And still another object is to provide a valve structure for pneumatic tires which is of such design that it is not necessary .to use two caps on the stem, as is the usual practice with a conventional pneumatic tire valve structure. Other objects and desirable features of our invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

To this end we have devised a valve structure for pneumatic tires that is composed of a valve stem which is adapted to be connected either to a tubular casing or to the inner tube of a tire provided with a split casing, a. removable cap on said stem that encases, the upper portion of same, a flexible device for sealing the space between said stein and cap constructed 1n such a Way that it ismaintained in operative condition by produced by air which escapes through t e air passageway in the stem, and means for preventin the air in the tire rushing out throng the air passageway in the stem when said cap is removed. The means last referred topreferably consists of an air valve arranged in the air passageway in the stem which is constructed in such a way that it will unseat automatically, during the 0peration of inlating the tire, and while the function of said valve is to retain the pressure in the tire, it -is not relied upon solely to 'seal the tire. On the contrary, the sealing of the tire is etiected by a flexible device ofV rugged design which is so constructed and' arranged that the air which escapes `from the tire past said air valve `"vill exert'pressure on said sealing device and cause it to effectively sea] the joint or s ace between the exterior of the stern an the interior of the cap that 'encases the upper portion of the stem.'

The figure of the drawing is a vertical sectional view of a valve structure for pneumetio tires constructed in accordance with our invention. A

Referring to the drawings, A designates a metal vah'e stem that is adapted to be connected in any preferred manner to a tubular tire casing or to the inner tube of a pneumatic tire of the type that isI now generally used on power operated vehicles, 1 desi nates an air passageway in said stem th-roug which air is introduced into the tire.,` B designates an air valve in said air passageway provided with a spring 2 that normally resses the valve against a seat C arranged 1n the air passageway 1 in the stem A and D designates a removable cap that encases the upper portion of the stem A. The cap D is similar in general design to the dust cap of the conventional pneumatic tire valve structure and is provided with a closed u per end and a side wall portion of slight y greaterdiameter than a reduced portion 3 at the upper end of the stem A, thus forming an annular space between the cap D and the reduced portion 3 at the upper end of the stem. AIn order to seal this annular space effectively and cut olf the esca e of air through the joint betweenV the cap andthe stem A on which it is mounted, we arrange a flexible sealing device E between the cap D and the reduced ortion 3 of the stem in such a way that the internal pressure in the cap D holds said sealing device pressed tightly against` the exterior of the stem A.

The particular design of the ,air valve B, the cap D and the sealing device E is immaterial, so far as our broad idea is concerned, so long as the valve B is of such design that it will'prevent the air from rushing out of the tire or escaping rapidly from the tire when the cap D is removed, and so long as the cap D and sealing device E are of such design that air can escape fromthe upper end of the air passageway 1v in the stern A and exert pressure on the device E in a direction to cause it to seal the joint between the cap D and stem A on which it is mounted. In the preferred orin of our invention, as herein illustrated, the portion of the valve B that acts on the valve seat C is constructed of metal, as said valve is not relied upon to maintain the pressure in the tire, and the capV D is so constructed that 'when it is arranged in its normal position on the stem A, the top portion of said cap will be s aced away from the upper enr] of the stem and an annular space will be formed between the interior of said cap and the reduced ortion 3 of the stein. rThe scaling device h is an ranged in the annular spare between the cap and the reduced portion 3 of the stem audit is preferably provided with two annular iiexible portions 4 and 5 arranged in con centric relation und spared a mrt so that the internal pressure in the cap will press the annular portion 4 tightly against the exterior of the reduced portion. 3 of the stem and will press the annular portion 5 snugly against the interior of the cap D, the exterior of the reduced portion 3 of the stem and the .interlor of the cap being smooth, for an obvlous pu ose. In the form of our invention herein lllustrated each of the annular portions 4 and 5 of the sealing device isIk `rovided with a feather edge and said sea in device is retained in the cap E by a mett collar F provided with a laterally-projecting flange 6 that is held a ainst an annular shoulder on the interior 0% the ea D by a sleeve which is arranged in the lllwer end portion of the cap D. his sleeve G 4is permanently connected to the ca D in any suitable way and it is provide with internal screw threadsthat co-operate with external screw threads '7 on the stem A. If desired, a flexible washer H can be arranged. between the inner end of the sleeve G and the flange 6 on the collar F so as to form a asket that bears a ainst a shoulder 8 at the ase of the reduce portion 3 of the stem A, when the cap D is mounted in it's normal position on said stem. The stem A is provided with a nut I that is adapted to be screwed down against the felloe of the wheel, and if desired, said nut can be provided with a sleeve 9 that telescopes over the lower end portion of the cap E when said cap is arranged in operative positionon the stem A, the sleeve 9 being herein illustrated as connected to the nut I by a swivel joint formed by an inwardly-projecting portion 9 at the lower end of the sleeve 9 which projects into an annular recess in a reduced portion 10 on the top side of the nut I, thereby permitting the nut I to turn relatively to the sleeve 9. The

air valve B is provided with a plunger portion 11 that projects upwardly throu ,h the valve seat C, so as to cause the valve to be unseated when the chuck of theair hose is applied to the upper end of the stem A, during the operation of inilating the tire, and the member (I that serves as a. seat for the air valve is provided on its top side with -one or'more grooves 12 that establish communication between the air hose and the air passageway 1 in the stem A when the nipple on the chuck enters the upper end of the air passageway 1 in the stern.

To infiate the tire the cap D is-removed and the chuck of the air hose is applied to the reduced portion 3 on the upper end of thesteinA in the usual manner, thus cans` ing the air valve B to be unseated so that air can pass from the source of supply into the tire through the air passageway l in the stem A. When the chuck of the air hose is removed from the stem A, the spring 2 will sont the valve B` thus temporarily retaining the pressure in the tire. Thereafter, the rap D is mounted inoperative position on the stem A by screwing it down on said stem until the gasket H bears against the annular shoulder 8 on said stem. As the valveY ll is not relied upon to retain the preure in thetire` some air :lealrsj ast said valve and and the interiorof the caplD, and conseuently, sealing ,the space or joint between the capD and stem Aso effectively that Vno air can escape through said joint.

Such avalvestructure is a decided irnprovement onthe conventional valve lstructure now universally used on pneumatic.

. tires, owing to the fact that'the .part which is relied upon to retain the pressure in the tire 'consists-of a rugged fiexible member E that isnotliable to wear'loutlquickly and which has suiiicient arealto prevent it from Abeing' rendered inoperativeby a small particle of dustlodgin on saine. .The Structure asy an entirety can manufactured at as low a cost as the conventional pneumatic tire valve structure,and as it dispenses with one A cap on the valve stern A, to wit, the conventional valve cap, it reduces the time and. labor of inating a pneumatic tire. While we have Stated that the sealing device E is preferably provided with two annular s aced portions, one of which is held against the interior of the cap D and the other against the exterior of the valve stem A by the internal pressure in the cap D, it is, of course, obvious that our broad idea is not limited to a valve structure provided with a sealing device of this rticular designer arrangement, but, on t e contrary, contemplates the use yof any suitable flexible sealin device arranged in such a manner that it wi lbe maintained in operative condition by internal pressure created in the cap D by the air which escapes through the air passage way in the stem'A on which the cap is mounted.

Having' thus described our invention, what we claimv and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem provided with an air passageway, a removable cap on said stem that encases the upper portion of sanned means operated by the internal pressure in said cap for sealing the joint between said can and stem, and means for preventing the air from rushing out of the tire when the cap is removed from said stem.

2. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem rovided with an air passageway, a remova le cap that encases the upper portion of the stem, a exible sealing device acted upon by air that escapes through the air passageway in the stern f or preventing air from escaping from the Joint between the stem and cap, and means for retardingI the escape of air from the tire through the passageway in said stem.

valveistructurc for pneumatic tires, comprisinga stem provided with an air passageway, arc-movable cap on'said stem tliatencasesfthe upper portion of same and having a portion that is separated from the VVVstem, by an annular space, a device for sealing said annular space that is maintained 4 in operative condition by the. internal pressure' in thcfcap, and a valve for re-Iiarding the escape of air from the tire through the air passageway, in the stem.

f4.' 5avalue2 Structure for pneumatic'tires, comprisinga stem provided with an air 'passageway, a valve for retardinthe escape of fair -from the tire through said passageway, a. removablecap encasing the upper portion ofsaid stem, and a sealing device in said cap provided with a flexible tubular portion that is held pressed tightly against the stem by thepinternal pressure in the cap.

5,. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem provided with an air passageway, a valve for retarding the escape of air l:from the tire through said assageway,

a removable ca on said stem t at encases the upper portion of same, and a sealing device in said cap rovided with two conoentrically arrange annular portions that are adapted to be held pressed tightly against the interior of the cap and the exterior of the stem by the internal pressure in the cap.

6. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem grovided with an air passageway, a removab e cap encasin the upper portion of said stem and provided with a gasket that bears against a shoulder on the stem, a flexible sealing device arranged between said gasket and the top of the cap and adapted to be maintained in operative condition by the internal pressure in the cap, and means that retards the escape of air from the tire through the passageway of said stem.

7. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem provided with an air passageway means for retarding the escape of the air from the tire through said passageway, a removable cap encasing the upper portion of the stem and separated from same by an annular space, and a flexible sealing device in said space provided with two feather edged, tubular portions that are held pressed ti htly against the exterior of the stem and internal pressure in the cap.

8. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem provided with an air passageway, a valve for retarding the escape of air from the tire through said passageway, a reduced portion at the upper end of said stem, a shoulder at the base of said'reduced portion, a removable cap on said stem provided with a gasket that bears against said shoulder, and a Hexible sealing device in e interior of the cap by the mg adapted to be held said cap that is held ressed tightly against the exterior of the redluced upper portxon of the stern b the internal ressure in said cap. 1 9.A va ve structure or pneumatic-tires, comprising a stem provided with an ai r passageway, a spring-pressed valve 1n said alr passageway provided with means for mam- Ytainin the valve unseated during the operation o inilatin the tire, a reduced rtion at the upper en of said stem, a shou der on the stem at the base of said reduceddportion, a removable ca on the stem provi ed with a asket that ars' against said shoulder an a sealing device 1n the cap provided with two concentrically arranged; flexible portions, one of which surrounds the reduced portion on the stem,4 said sealing device bepressed tightly against t e cap and the stem by the internal pressure in the cap.

410. A. valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a st em provided with an air pssageway, a sprln -pressed valve for retarding the escape o air from the tire through said passa way2 a removable cap on said stem provi ed with a flexible sealm device that is maintained in operative con xtion by the internal engaging nut sai stem rovid with a sleeve that is mn d telescopi engagement with sai capa 11. A valve structure for pneumatic tires, comprising a stem provided with an air passageway, a valve seat in said assageway, a spring-pressed valve .in sai passa way t iat eo-operates with said seat, a p un r portion on said valve that projects upwa through the valve seat member, a redu portion at the upper end of said stem 1'0-- videdl at its base with a shoulder a flexible sealing device in said cap provided with ortions that are held pressed tightly against theinterior of the ca the reduced portion o the stem by the interna] pressure in the cap, and means for retaimng' said sealin device in said ca r J OI-Ig KELLEY. p

y CHARLES RAYMOND.'

pressure in the cap, and a felloe and the exterior of A 

